Real laser hacked into NES light gun

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If you’re old enough to remember unpacking a brand new NES, you might also recall that your efforts to hook it up were immediately sidetracked by the Zapper. The light gun Nintendo included with the console was sleek, futuristic, and made a satisfying “thwang” when the trigger was pulled — all the key elements of a great 1980’s toy. For many young gamers, the first few minutes with the system were spent pointing the Zapper at every nearby object and imagining the sort of powerful laser blast that it would likely produce. Sadly, the white screen flash it created in Duck Hunt never lived up to those expectations.

Now that the NES generation is old enough to have access to real lasers, it was only a matter of time before someone made their childhood fantasies a reality. A team at North Street Labs recently took apart one of those classic light guns and retrofitted it with a 2W laser (about 400x stronger than a laser pointer) that burns skin or objects instantly and ignites matches from a distance.

The team’s final product is equal parts impressive and terrifying. The portable unit is powered entirely by batteries set into the handle, so it’s not tethered by a cord. Given the very real danger of a device like that, it’s a good thing they also included a turn key safety. But surprisingly there were a couple of things in the original Zapper that didn’t need modification. Nintendo apparently over engineered the original electric momentary switch, so it was more than capable of handling the additional current. The stock trigger also turned out to be perfect for creating a real laser gun, as it can generate either a quick shot or a persistent beam.